Men's 10,000

To mention anyone other than Meb Keflezighi as favorite might sound as ludicrous as four straight brilliantly sunny days in Eugene, but Thursday night's 10K final will not be a run-from-the-gun like the May 4 race where Meb broke Mark Nenow's 15-year-old standard. Meb will be doubling back in the 5K and should be in no hurry to rush to the front.

Alan Culpepper, who PR'ed in that Stanford race, is one of only four entrants who have the World Champs standard of 28:00.00, along with Abdi Abdirahman and Nick Rogers. Rogers, however, is only running the 5K, so Abdi might not be in a hurry to push the pace either. But Abdi, who often looks uncomfortable running in a pack, might just surge to the front before too long.

Look for Meb to make a big push from about 2 miles out. If he's able to hang on, Culpepper could make use of his sharp kick to make it exciting. Should someone unexpected sneak into the top 3, they would need a sub-28:00 effort to get on the team, and with only a month and a half left before Edmonton, that's not likely. Warm conditions in Eugene might slow the pace even further.
/Dan Lilot/